Daniel f



D. I. LUSE.

Hydrant.

No. 235,790. Patented Dec. 21,1880.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFIQEO DANIEL F. LUSE, OF (JENTRE'HALL,PENNSYLVANIA.

HYDRANT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 235,790, dated December21, 1880.

Application filed July 26, 1879.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, DANIEL F. LUSE, of CentreHall, in the county of Centre and State of Pennsylvania, have inventedan Improved Hydrant; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull and exact description thereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making part of this specification- Figure I beinga side view of the hydrant; Fig. 2, a central vertical section of themain part of the hydrant.

Like letters designate corresponding parts in both figures.

The main feature of my invention consists in a hydrant-valve formed of athick cylinder or block of india-rubber or equivalent compressible oryielding elastic material, constructed to fit against a fiat valve-seat,the thickness of the block being sufficient to produce the requisitecompression or yielding and adaptation to the surface of the valveseatto produce a perfectly-tight joint, while it possesses sufficientfirmness and rigidity to resist any pressure to which it may be sub- '25jected.

I have found by experiment and trial that while a mere elastic packingor gasket, even when of considerable thickness, upon a metallic orunyielding body, will not answer to make a perfectly-tight packing thatwill endure and continue to adapt itself to the valveseat, yet that athick block of india rubber composing the whole or the main part of thevalve-body will, by its full extent of compressibility and yielding,adapt itself to the valve-seat, equalize its pressure thereon, andretain its firmness and form for a great length of time, even inhydrants subject to continual and frequent use, as in large cities. Thethickness or depth of this valve-block may, of course, vary, and I donot intend to confine myself to any exact limits in its dimensions; butI find that an inch in thickness, or thereabout, is preferable. Withsuch a thickness the valve will retain its form and firmness for anunlimited time. Instead of The block may be of cylindrical, poly Thisvalve is intended to close against and not into a valve-seat, so that itmay have a lateral self-adapting movement. Yet the valve-seat may varysomewhat from a plane form, either concavely or convexl y, and stillhave the valve close against it. By thus shutting against a flat face,and not wedging into a seat, the valve of india-rubber becomespracticable and capable of exercising its superior elastic quali- 6oties, so that it will shut tightly against the valve-seat even whengravel of considerable size intervenes or the valve-seat is quiteirregular from wearing away, while the indentations of the valve itselfthereby do not materially injure the same, and it does not wearunevenly. It therefore does not get out of or der, even under long andoften repeated use, Whereas an india-rubber valve fitting into a seatand subjected to pressure therein is entirely impracticable, because itwedges powerfully into its seat, as I have proved by repeated experimentand trial.

The accompanying drawings represent this and my other improvementsapplied to a hydrant which closes the valve by the upward pressure ofthe water.

A represents the valve-chamber connected with the service-pipe B,'and Othe exhaust or overflow chamber connected with the deliverypipe D.

The valve E is formed of a thick block of india-rubber or equivalentcompressible or yielding material, and it is secured upon the lower endof the stem G by nuts to and b at the bottom and top thereof, or by anyequivalent and suitable means, so that the whole body of the'block isfree to yield and. adapt itself to the valve-seat H, against which itcloses upward. The valve is kept in its proper 0 position by suitableguides in the valve-chamber, so as to allow a free passage around thevalve and not interfere with the flow of the water. As an improvedconstruction, I cast downward projections 0 c 011 the exhaust-box 5outside of or around the valve-seat, to serve as such guides, betweenwhich the valve loosely or freely moves.

The valve-stem G extends straight upward through the exhaust or overflowchamber 0, I00

and through an opening, d, in the top of the case thereof, and itterminates with a screwthread, f, a little above the case or box, toreceive a nut, I, adjustable in position thereon. Under this nut apacking of india-rubber or other suitable material is applied to closedown upon the top of the case as a seat and shut the opening (Z thereinwater-tight when the valve is opened, but to allow the water in thedelivery-pipe to escape and prevent freezing as soon as the valve isagain closed. This aperture cl is made a little larger than thevalve-stem, so that there may be no wear or friction of the parts in theuse of the hydrant; but to insure sufficient space around the valve-stemto empty the delivery-pipe quickly, especially in freezing Weather, Iform a cut or passage, g, in the side of the valve-stem, which opens aspacein the aperture (1 when the valve is closed, but may not when thevalve is opened. The valve is operated by a lever, L, as shown in thedrawin gs, orby anyother suitable and desired means.

With the lever device as herein represented ,l have some features ofimprovement. I mount the lever on a pivot, t', which is east or formedon one part of a divided collar, M, which is clamped by screws aroundthe delivery-pipeD. This lever is connected with the valve-stem by aconnecting-rod, N, which I connect with the said valve-stem in apeculiar manner, as represented. I form an ear or upward projection,l,'on one side of the nut I and hook the connecting-rod into it. By thismeans not only is the proper connection formed between theconnecting-rod and the valve-stem, but the conneeting-rod serves as anut-lock to prevent the turning and displacement of the nut, and enablesme to adjust the packing under the nut in relation to the seat below byfirst disconnecting the conpecting-rod from the lever or with the leverfrom its mounting, then turning the nut till the adjustment is effected,and then again mounting the lever or connecting the connecting-rodtherewith. Thus, if the pressure of water in the hydrant is great, thenut and packing may be adjusted downward, so as to make the movement ofthe valve comparatively small; or ifthe pressure of water in the hydrantis light, then a greater movement of the valve is desirable to adjustthe flow of water thereto. 7

A suitable counter-spring, O, is connected with the lever L, tocounterbalance its handle, the connecting-rod N, and the valve and itsstem. I provide a simple and convenient means of adjusting the force ofthis spring. Its lower end is connected with a strip, P, which isprovided with aslot or number of holes, at m, to mount it on the bolt02, by which the collar M at one side is secured on the delivery pipe.By this means the strip itself is adjusted up or down, and consequentlythe spring varied in its tension and force.

I disclaim a valve of india-rubber the periphery of which shuts into avalve-seat of corresponding form, such valves being entirely inoperativeunder pressure on account of the close wed gin g thereof into its seat.I also disclaim a solid india-rubber valve playing to and from thevalve-seat freely upon a valve stem or guide, the material(india-rubber) performin g no special function in such a construction.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. Ahydrant-valve composed, essentially, of a cylinder or block ofindia-rubber, or equivalent yielding elastic material, attached to thevalve-stem, and having a flat end or face abutting against, but notentering, a flat valveseat, substantially as and for the purpose hereinspecified.

2. The valve-guides c c, projecting from the exhaust-box, in combinationwith the valve E, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

3. In a hydrant, a valve-stem having a cut or passage in one side, whereit passes through the upper Wall of the case, in combination with theexhaust-chamber O, substantially as and for the purpose hereinspecified.

4. The combination of the adjustable nut I, holding the packing on thevalve-stem G, lever L, and the connecting-rod N, substantially as andfor the purpose herein specified.

5. The lever L, mounted on the deliverypipe D by means of aclamp-collar, M, hearing the lever-pivot t, and adjusting-strip P,substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

6. The adjusting-strip P, in combination.

with the spring 0 on the lever L, substantially as and for the purposeherein specified.

The foregoing specification signed by me this 15th day of July, 1879.

D. F. LUSE.

WVitnesses:

PETER H OFFER, FRED KURTZ.

